Regaled in song and verse and immortalized on everything from plates to quilts, the Sunbonnet Babies reign as one of the most charming figures in the world of collectible antiques.
Sunbonnet figures first appeared in 1884 as a redwork pattern in Eva Marie Niles’ book Fancy Work Creations. These early figures, sketched in red or black ink, wore large bonnets and little puff-sleeved dresses with aprons. Their faces were always visible. It would be 18 years later that, with their faces hidden, they would be colorized by illustrator Bertha Carbett and featured in a children’s book by Eulalie Osgood Grover.
Grover’s close friend and collaborator, Bertha L. Corbett, began her study of art in Minneapolis before moving to Philadelphia to study under the famous illustrator Howard Pyle. During a classroom discussion one of her fellow classmates commented, “How little expression there is to a figure in which the face does not show.”
This provoked a memory in Carbett’s mind of watching little girls on a playground who’s faces were entirely hidden by enormous bonnets. She recalled how while watching them it was amazingly easy to tell their moods by their body movements without ever seeing their faces. “I do not believe that face is necessary for a figure to show expression,” she told the class. They instantly challenged her to prove her point and she sketched the first adorable and faceless Sunbonnet Baby.
Grover and Carbett produced a series of full color reading primers in 1902 featuring the quaint little girls in huge, face-shielding sunbonnets. The format of the primer was a basic 150 word vocabulary with word lists and teacher’s guides. With its four color format and large font it set a new standard for children’s books.
The following year saw the release of a series of travel books featuring the “Babies” adventures in Italy, Holland and Switzerland. These books were widely accepted as textbooks and were used as geography books on the second and third grade level. Before her death, in 1958, Minnesota native Eulalie Osgood Grover wrote 27 books for children that sold over four million copies.
The autumn of 1905 saw the release of a series of books featuring the Babies’ male counterpart, The Overall Boys. These chubby little guys in farm clothes, while well received, never quite met with the success of America’ favorite little girls in sunbonnets.
The popularity of the The Sunbonnet Babies grew and soon their images were seen on “feed sack” quilts, embroidered hand towels and featured on a full line of children’s dishes produced by The Royal Bayreuth China Company.
Sunbonnet books are highly sought by collectors. Quilts and other soft goods with their image are of moderate value if in good condition. Children’s porcelain is of value if it is an early release. But note that these dishes have been widely reproduced and the newer pieces are of minimal value. Until next time…Linda
Linda Kennett is a professional liquidation consultant specializing in down-sizing for seniors and the liquidation of estates and may be reached at 317-253-7835 or lkennett@indy.rr.com
